Flanked by turkey and stuffing this bean salad brightened my Christmas Day plate!

I’m not sure “beans” come top of mind when thinking of the holidays but when the word “holiday” is in the name, we had to make this salad for Christmas Day feasting.

But before we dive into this hearty dish, let’s chat a little more about beans. Whether it’s bean dip, refried beans, chili with beans, baked beans, pork and beans, or pinto beans — I think we can all agree that beans are a part of everyday living.

My Dad loved the movie Blazing Saddles and let’s look at a slice from the movie that has direct ties to beans and making music, so to speak. I can still hear my Dad laughing!

Distinct parts of my family have a fondness for, shall we call it, “bathroom humor!” I can remember shortly after my college graduation scoring this amazing Santa who has more skills than a (breaking) wind symphony!

foodie tip

❤ While we were in a scurry preparing the holiday festivities we forgot to enjoy this salad from lettuce cups. Doh! The note below says to decorate the tops of the salad with tiny star-shaped pimientos. Save yourself some frustration and use some tiny cookie cutters to do the work for you!

2. Cook the green beans and the limas according to package directions. When both types of beans are done, cool, drain, and set them aside.

3. In a large bowl add the beans, limas, onions, celery, pimiento strips and 1 cup of the prepared salad dressing. Gently toss everything together then chill 2 – 3 hours in the fridge, occasionally turning in the dressing to help things marinate.

4. You can serve the bean salad solo but the original recipe (below) calls for the bean salad to be served in lettuce cups with cutout stars of pimiento.